WASHINGTON – China agreed today to let U.S. officials hold a second meeting with the crew of a disabled American spy plane – following a flurry of stepped-up diplomatic efforts in search of a solution to the standoff.

The meeting with the 24 crew members was to take place early today on Hainan, the island where the American plane made an emergency landing after colliding with a Chinese fighter jet, said officials at the U.S. embassy in Beijing.

The only other meeting with the crew took place on Tuesday, when American diplomats said the 21 men and three women were in good health.

The concession was a positive sign as talks between the two countries intensified, with aides to President Bush saying yesterday they had reached a sensitive stage.

Using carefully coded diplomatic language, Bush for the first time expressed regret for the loss of China’s plane and pilot, but the president didn’t apologize and aides were adamant that he won’t.

“I regret that a Chinese pilot is missing and I regret that one of their airplanes is lost. Our prayers go out to the pilot, his family,” Bush said, a day after Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed “regret” for the incident.

U.S. officials hinted things looked brighter in a showdown that could set the tone for U.S.-China relations – and Bush’s image on the world stage – but they were careful to avoid claiming any breakthrough.

“The message to the Chinese is, we should not let this incident destabilize relations. Our relationship with China is very important. But they need to realize that it’s time for our people to be home,” Bush said.

“We’re working all diplomatic channels . . . My intention is to make sure we do have good relations. But the Chinese have got to act. And I hope they do so quickly,” he told the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

Bush, sticking to his normal schedule to underscore the idea that this isn’t yet a crisis, is to throw out the ceremonial first pitch today at the new Milwaukee Brewers stadium.

White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said there is “ongoing, intensive diplomacy,” but he declined to claim progress.

“I’m reluctant to give a word one way or another to it, due to the sensitivity of where the negotiations and discussions currently stand,” he said.

But Fleischer, balancing carrot and stick, also hinted that if the incident drags on, it could prompt Bush to rethink his past support for free trade with China or affect his view of China’s bid for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

“The president is taking it one step at a time,” Fleischer said.

The incident began Sunday as two Chinese fighter jets played cat-and-mouse with the Navy’s turbo-prop EP-3 Aries II electronic eavesdropping plane off the Chinese coast over what U.S. officials say are international waters.

One Chinese jet collided with the Navy plane, forcing it to make an emergency landing on China’s Hainan island, where soldiers seized it and removed the crew. The Chinese jet apparently fell into the sea.

In Congress, Bush’s no-apology stance is getting strong support.

“It would be absolutely wrong for the United States of America to apologize or to contemplate anything like compensation,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).